A Grand Strategy of Peace

'A fascinating account of how British officials worked during the Second World War on the design of a new world organisation that would somehow preserve British influence, which might otherwise be expected to decline, while promoting collective security.' Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London

A grand strategy of peace is the first extended account of Britain's role in the creation of the United Nations Organization during the Second World War. As a work of traditional diplomatic history that brings in elements of intellectual history, the book describes how British officials, diplomats, politicians, and writers - previously seen to be secondary actors to the United States in this period - thought about, planned for, and helped to establish a future international order. While in the present day, many scholars and analysts have returned to the origins of the post-1945 international system, this book offers a detailed account of how the statesmen and more importantly, the officials working below the statesmen, actually conceived of and worked to establish a post-war world order. The book provides a detailed case study in diplomatic planning and negotiation, as well as Second World War diplomacy and statecraft.

Andrew Ehrhardt is Deputy-Director of the Centre for Grand Strategy and a Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies at King's College London